


I'm a Clone

by TheDarkestDandelion



Series: The Daemon, the Soldier and a Stolen Bio-Weapon AU [66]
Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Clones, Family Feels, Family Fluff, Family Secrets, Fluff and Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Love, M/M, Mentions of Verstael Besithia, Multi, Parent Ardyn Izunia, Parent Cor Leonis, Prompto Argentum Needs a Hug, Revelations, Tears
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-12
Updated: 2019-10-12
Packaged: 2020-12-09 12:20:33
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,664
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20994704
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheDarkestDandelion/pseuds/TheDarkestDandelion
Summary: Cor and Ardyn decide it is finally time to tell Prompto about the true nature of his birth. No, matter how painful it might be, it has to be done.





	I'm a Clone

**Author's Note:**

> Poor Prom. But I promise he is okay. 
> 
> Hope you enjoy :)

The magitek army was rapidly advancing across Lucis.

Everyone was fearing the worst. The citizens locked outside the magical wall of Insomnia were starting to riot and continued to hate on the family that they once saw as a source of protection. Some were even welcoming the new Niflheim regime that they were being forced in to. It looked as if there were tough times ahead for all and this war was clearly far from over.

However, the war wasn’t the only thing that struck fear into Ardyn’s and Cor’s hearts. Yes, it was a terrible thing that was happening. They were watching the country and nation they sort to protect crumble. But they had to deal with the fear of someone finding out about their son’s greatest secret. If a guard or a glaive captured one of the Majteck soldier’s and discovered what was underneath… the thought was too harrowing to bare. The country was already tearing itself apart and to learn that the cloning of a human being had been successful and that the royal family was housing one of these clones as one of its own, it would be enough to cause a revolution. Poor Prom… how would this information affect him? He had known from an early age where he had come from. But he never knew the true circumstances of his birth. Neither Cor or Ardyn knew how he would react. It was going to be a tough pill to swallow but Cor thought it was for the best that Prompto is told before any information came to light. Because if the worst did come, Prom would at least be prepared for the chaos that would reign down on all their heads.

Late one night, Cor was sitting on the floor of their living room with Cerbie laying in his lap in a protective manner (Cerbie had been like this since Cor came back from Niflheim 3 years ago, and Cor didn’t complain. They actually got on now and he loved it when Cerbie gave him cuddles and attention) the Marshal thought it best that he and Ardyn talk about Prom’s birth. 

“Ass Hat, it’s time we tell Prom.”

“Tell him, what now?” Ardyn questioned, playing with Cor’s hair, sitting on the sofa that Cor was leaning up against.

“About his birth.”

“Do we have too. He is perfectly happy with who he is.” Ardyn complained.

It wasn’t that he didn’t want too, it was that he didn’t think that Prom was ready for it. Their sunbeam of a child was only 13 years old and he was a delicate soul. Also, if they told Prom that he was a clone, Ardyn would also have to admit that he may have daemonified a God to his son… and Prom would not ever look at him in the same light again. Couldn’t they wait until he was a little older? 

Cor shook his head as he continued to stroke the daemon dog in his lap. “I don’t want to do it either but think about it. He is a member of the royal family, meaning he is in the centre of the public eye. And at some point, someone is going to see the similarities between Prompto and that twat of a man.”

“Language.” Ardyn warned, stopping briefly to pat Cor on the head for swearing. Before returning to running his fingers through his husband's recently cut hair.

It was so soft. 

Cor didn’t care if he swore, he could have said a lot worse. But that wasn’t important, the issue of Prom’s heritage was. There was no way that anyone could ever say that Prompto was a danger. But if people did learn about Verstael and what he had done, they might be terrified of Prom. Plus, their son possessed daemon powers. The backlash and panic from those revelations would cause mass panic leaving what remained of Lucian territory wide open for an attack. Prom may feel that it was all his fault. By no means necessary would it be. But Cor had to protect his son. He would always protect Prom’s smile and he would always ensure that he felt safe. Even if it meant telling him the most painful thing he would ever have to hear.

Cor looked up at Ardyn to express his worries through his facial expressions. “You see my point though.”

“I do… it is just going to be hard. He has only just stopped seeing Dr Mars.” Ardyn said sadly, he really did not want to see Prompto hurt or upset in any way. And if he finally learnt that he was a clone of that disgrace of a man, it had the potential to place their son’s trauma right back to how he was when they first adopted him.

“I didn’t say it was going to be easy. But it has to be done.”

* * *

The following day, Cor came home early after telling Somnus of his and Ardyn’s plans to tell Prom. The Marshal would have asked Regis, but he wasn’t well at the moment, leaving Somnus in-charge for a few days until he recovered. The Founder King gladly gave Cor the time off and tried to boot him out the door as soon as their conversation ended. For Somnus loved Prompto so much and he, like Prom’s parents, would do whatever it took it keep that smile on his sunbeam of a nephew’s face. But this had to be done and the sooner the better.

Ardyn and Cor waited anxiously for Prompto to arrive home from school. But at the last minute Prom text them saying he was going to be an hour late as Ignis was cooking something for Noctis and him to try. Which only put more pressure on Cor and Ardyn, but they had to remain strong. This had to be done today and when Prompto finally returned they got straight to the point.

Prompto said hello but tried to go upstairs straight after, and Cor didn’t let that happen.

“Prom can we have a chat with you?” Cor asked, preventing Prom from going any further out of the living room.

“But I said I would play King’s Knight with Noct when I got home.” Prom replied in an innocent tone looking at his dad. He should really be doing his homework but he and Noct were on a 50-day streak and they did not want to blow it now.

“Noctis can wait. This can’t.”

“Listen to your father Prom.” Ardyn ordered, tapping his fingers on the sofa in a nervous manner. Thankfully Cerbie could tell that Ardyn was agitated, so he was rubbing one of his heads against his leg in a comforting way. He was such a good boy.

Realising that he would only be limiting his time by arguing, Prom sat down next to Ardyn and waited for whatever chat this was. It better not be ‘the talk’ that was one conversation that young Prompto did not want to have with either of his dads.

Before anyone could speak, Cerbie stopped hugging Ardyn and jumped up on the sofa and landed in Prom’s lap. Prom’s eyes went wide and he tried to get his dog off the sofa, as Cerberus was not allowed on the sofa. “Cerbie you’re not allowed up here. Get down bud, before you get told off.”

“We can make an exception today.” Ardyn sighed, stroking Cerbie’s back to thank him for giving Prompto comfort before this little talk even began.

“Why?” Prom asked suspiciously….

This never happened. Had something bad happened? Was uncle Regis okay? He better call Noct after this. Or was uncle Somnus hurt? Either one would not be good. But Prom knew he shouldn’t be overreacting. He hugged Cerbie and allowed his dads to explain to him what had occurred before jumping to any conclusions.

Cor cleared his throat an sat on the other sofa. “Right, we need to talk to you about your birth.”

“Okay, I know how it works. Please don’t give me the talk.” Prom begged he had a feeling that this was what it was going to be about.

“No sunbeam we aren’t discussing that with you. It is partly to do with that, but not in full.” Ardyn confirmed but that just made Prompto more confused.

“I know this upsets you, but we need to talk about the bad man.”

“Oh…”

Okay… Prompto did not like talking about him. It had been years but he could still remember what had happened back in Niflheim. All the tests and experiments that were performed on him and others. Prom couldn’t remember the others, he only remembered that there had been others but not what they looked like. If he was honest, he didn’t really remember what the bad man looked like. All he knew was that looking in the mirror still caused him distress but he could cope with it now.

But… why would the bad man have anything to do with his birth?

Prompto hadn’t asked about his birth before. He assumed that he had been born and taken away from his birth parents, before being found by Cor and taken in as The Marshal’s and His Grace’s son. Prompto didn’t know if he wanted to know what his dads were about to tell him.

Ardyn held onto Prom’s hand before speaking carefully at his son. “Sunbeam, you said you are scared of looking at your reflection because of him. Well…”

“What?” Prompto asked with dread in his stomach.

“It’s okay. There is nothing to be scared off.” Cor reassured him, while Cerbie snuggled into Prom’s lap. Why was this hard to explain? “It’s just…”

“You’re worrying me.” Prompto said, very unsure as to where this conversation was headed. 

“Don’t be worried.” Ardyn smiled.

They weren’t getting anywhere. And Cor knew they had to do this quick. It was like taking off a plaster. The pain always hurt less if it was ripped off rather than peeled. “Look Prompto, there is no easy way to say this. Verstael and Niflheim are insane and a few years back they came up with the idea of making soldiers from scratch to lower their casualties of war.”

Ardyn nodded at Cor’s approach to the issue and placed a comforting hand on Prom’s shoulder. “Sunbeam, this part will be hard to swallow. But to make these soldier’s they thought that cloning would be the best option. Which led to Verstael deciding that he would clone himself.”

“Clone?” Prom’s faced harden.

“Yes, Prom.” Cor nodded, by the look on Prom’s face nothing more needed to be said.

The 13-year-old looked down at the bar code on his wrist that was concealed by a piece of fabric and let go a raspy breath… this whole time… the mirrors… the others… the nightmares… the bad… Verstael… the cogs in Prom’s head were turning and he felt numb. Numb and lost. Not even Cerbie’s hugs and licks could make him feel anything. 

“Clone… I’m a… I’m a clone?”

“Yes.”

“That is what this barcode is?” Prompto asked in a whisper, taking the information in, still refusing to look away from the mark that had been branded on his skin all those years ago… Why? Prom’s mouth opened a jar and his mind was blank.

“We think so.” Ardyn said softly, rubbing his son’s back. “Are you okay?”

“I don’t know. Does everyone know?”

“Only us, Somnus, Clarus and Regis.”

“Does Noctis need to know?” Prompto asked, in a shaky voice. His heart was racing and he felt his stomach begin to heat up.

What would Noctis think if he found out? Would he hate him? Prompto was a clone. He was something that was meant to destroy and bring terror to his family and this nation. He was a monster… He wanted to cry. He wanted to run away but those thoughts were knocked out of his head when he saw Cor kneel in front of him taking hold of one of his hands and smiling comfortingly at him.

“Not if you don’t want him too.” Cor confirmed, desperate not see tears form in his baby boy’s eyes.

“If I am a clone than… why do I have daemon powers?”

Ardyn continued to rub Prom’s back as he answered his son’s question. “We don’t know the full ins and outs of it, but Verstael decided to infuse his clones with daemon DNA to make them more powerful. And with you, you ended up with a lot of powers.”

“Prompto… please do not worry. You are safe we promise.”

“Does that mean Verstael’s… my dad?”

“No!” Ardyn felt his eyes glow yellow for a second. But he soon calmed himself down and told Prompto exactly were that man stood in their lives. The mad infected scientist was never going to be apart of their lives again. “That man has nothing to do with you and he never will ever again.”

“Listen, mate. I don’t care if you are a clone. I don’t care if you were born in Niflheim. You are our son, and nothing is ever going to change that.”

“We love you my sunbeam, you mean the world to us. Nothing else could ever compare to how much we love you.”

“Don’t forget that, alright?”

Prompto remained still for a moment. And then, the silent tears fell down his face.

Cor and Ardyn immediately regretted telling him the truth and Ardyn wrapped an arm around Prom’s shoulders and pulled him in for a hug. Cerbie did what he could to cozy up to Prom and Cor’s grip on Prom’s hand got tighter. They knew tears would come… but it still broke their hearts none the less.

“Prompto… it’s okay. You can cry properly if needed. We understand that this is a lot to take in. We are here.” Ardyn said, continuing to hug his seemingly heartbroken son

Prompto wiped his eyes with his free hand and shook his head. When he spoke, he took in a deep breath to try and control his tears. “I am not crying because I am sad. I am crying because you two love me. Even after you found out how I was born.”

“Prom, your dad is a daemon and I still love him.” Cor laughed, feeling relieved and slightly overwhelmed with how well Prom had taken to the news.

“And he can make a Niflheim army run on its heels just by walking onto the battlefield. It doesn’t change how we feel about each other.”

“And your birth has never altered our love for you.”

“And it never will.” Ardyn confirmed, tears threatening to leave his own eyes.

Prompto let go of Cor’s hand and wrapped his arms around both of his dads to pull them in for the biggest hug that he had ever given anyone. While poor Cerbie was left squished in the middle of the trio, still doing his job of loving and comforting Prom. Now, the blonde was properly crying. In his mind he did not deserve these wonderful, if slightly messed up, people like his parents. They had been nothing but kind, caring, loving and had always been there to protect and love him. Prom had seen the way that people treated Ardyn and yet Cor didn’t give a shit what people had to say. They were happy with each other and they still loved each other and made it work… and they were happy with having Prom in their house and calling him their son.

That thought brought Prom so much joy and hope, and in reality, the origins of his birth didn’t matter. It was the person he was that counted and the people who loved and supported him no matter what. That was what his dads did. They had always been there to help and support him. To be there and love him… that was all that matter.

“You are the best dads in the world.”


End file.
